Changes

Most textile products are washed several times during their [[lifecycle]]s. Today it is estimated that the average Swede uses about 200 kg washed clothes per year. This is more than ten times the total fiber consumption, or about 1.7 million tons. 40 000-50 000 tons of detergents is used for this. In addition to this, a few thousand tons of fabric softener and anti-static agent are used. The use of dry cleaning is estimated to about 0.7 kg per person and year. The decrease is due to increased costs and environmental problems, as well as to changes in materials and clothing habits. Laundry has always been an essential part of household chores. But also companies and institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes and hotels have a great need of laundry and these form a market for industrial laundries. Washing habits have changed over time, due to the progress of detergents and laundry equipment. The industrial production of soap began in the 1800s after the invention of the soda process. The first composite detergent was manufactured in 1907 in Germany under the name Persil. Besides soap and soda it also contained perborate as bleaching agent and silicate as a stabilizer, hence the name Persil. Soap was the surfactant in detergents until World War II. Then the development has been rapid. The first washing machines came in the middle of the 1800s and the first dry cleaning machine came about 1870. These devices were quite primitive, and the development did not take off until after World War II. Seeing to the large amount of detergent, energy and water that is used for laundry, you understand that they place great demands on our natural resources.